Orebolo (əh rā bəˈlō, like “Arevalo” with Spanish pronunciation) took up residence at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY this weekend for its three largest headlining shows to date. The relatively rare acoustic outfit–featuring guitarists Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach alongside Jeffrey Arevalo on upright bass—represents a three-fifths majority of Goose, which made headlines of its own this week by announcing Cotter Ellis, releasing new music (Ted Tapes 2024) and announcing a 21-date summer tour. Notably, Mr. Ellis was on hand to receive a raucous ovation and extended “GOOOOOOOSE” chant from the balcony early in Thursday’s first set when his newest bandmates welcomed him and pointed out his presence.
Not quite a year ago, in March of 2023, Goose played 5 consecutive sold-out nights at The Cap. On the fifth of those days, Orebolo recorded an early afternoon podcast of “Conversation and Music” with Osiris Media’s Tom Marshall and RJ Bee in the venue’s adjacent bar, Garcia’s. With this week’s sold-out three-night run on the big stage, Orebolo has now become the fastest band on record to mark such an ascent.
The project got its start with a similar podcast session at Brooklyn, NY’s Bell House on 1/23/20, back when it was still being called “an a-Goose-tic” trio. When the pandemic hit, Rick, Peter, and Jeff began streaming sets from The Solarium in Ridgefield, CT. In late August of 2021, they played in front of a live crowd for essentially the first time (the podcast at the Bell House notwithstanding) at Goose’s Fred The Festival at at LOCKN’ Farm. At the band’s first two-set headlining show billed as Orebolo three months later in Tarrytown, NY (12/2/21), the trio showed up with an antique lamp and a house plant. Rick’s dog Shasta and a bottle of wine completed the stage setup. Orebolo’s most recent show prior to the Cap run—the group’s 19th dating back to the Bell House in 2020 while Goose has played roughly 270 shows over the same period—saw the band welcome both Sturgill Simpson and Bob Weir to the stage during this year’s Dead Ahead festival in Mexico.
This weekend, Orebolo stayed true to its minimalist decor but leveled up considerably with an array of twenty-five or so circular stage lights of varying diameters. Rubbed bronze with peace-sign shaped spokes, they cast a warm orange glow that perfectly complemented candles lining the front of the stage.
The New York crowd was chatty and a general admission floor only fueled that fire. Even with the acoustic sound perfectly dialed in the historic rock hall, heavy talking between songs made it almost impossible to hear what the band was playing until :30 had elapsed and Rick started singing over the din. As the nights wore on, however, the crowd did grow noticeably more appreciative, even causing Peter to note on night three, “We’ve really been blessed by some fantastic audiences these past few days,” perhaps thinking of those jarring moments when intentional dead quiet and pin-drop silence juxtaposed the crowd’s proclivity for extreme chattiness (see: “Red Bird from night two).
On night one of three, “Lead The Way ” appropriately kicked things off ahead of “Elizabeth”, Peter’s lone vocal of Thursday’s opening night. Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” made its Orebolo debut ahead of first-set standout “Turbulence & The Night Rays”. Another trio of Orebolo debuts came next as “Not Alone” set up a pair of mismatched but otherwise exceptional covers, Ilsey Juber’s 2023 pop hit “No California” and Chick Corea’s most recognizable composition and jazz standard, “Spain”. “Dim Lights” preceded an energetic “So Ready” to cap the set.
“Turned Clouds”, penned by Rick in his middle school days, opened the second set before Arevalo grabbed his bow to help the band fire off a flaming “Arrow”. The seemingly Irish but apparently New Zealand folk song “Where Is My Wild Rose” by Chris Thompson followed, the trio’s gorgeous, three-way harmonies again accompanied by the crowd’s full attention. “Hot Tea” saw the evening’s first extended improvisation, the crowded room showing their full admiration with raucous cheers and visibly appreciative dance. Another eclectic cover pairing followed with Tears For Fears‘ “Mad World” followed by the weekend’s first of five Grateful Dead covers (no doubt an homage to the venue’s storied tie-dye history), an emphatic “New Speedway Boogie”.
Go everywhere, feel everything, see everyone you want, yourself,
Nothing’s lost if all you’ve held.
Child your heart’s on fire.
The room again drew dead silent as I happened to catch the light shining off the face of a six year old girl who was hugging her mother while Rick sang those lyrics to “A Western Sun”. In a weekend full of heavy emotion and musical goosebumps, that singular moment continues to bubble to the surface and surmount them all, but that six-year old girl wasn’t the only one seeping up all the light as the trio brought the house down with “Arcadia”, a defining opus from Goose’ early catalog. A tenderly beautiful “Arise” encore put the finishing touches on night one.
The trio returned a day later, opening Friday night’s show with “Mr. Action” ahead of the Grateful Dead’s “Jack-A-Roe”. “Dr. Darkness” then migrated from Goose’s catalog into Orebolo’s for the first time. A Goose song well known for its signature drum intro, it took a moment to recognize “Flodown” in the acoustic format as it arose from someplace new. In that moment, it was interesting to contemplate prior Goose versions, known only with former drummer Ben Atkind behind the kit, as compared to what the next few might sound and look like with Ellis on drums. “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me” (Dave Van Ronk) and “Creatures” followed.
Orebolo – Set 1 Preview [Pro-Shot] – 2/8/24
The band’s penchant for honoring the King Of Rock & Roll already well documented, Mitarotonda quipped, “Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” as he introduced the weekend’s first of two “obligatory” Elvis Presley covers, “Don’t Be Cruel”. This Orebolo debut was Rick’s first crack at lead vocals, however, as the only previous rendition by Goose saw the band joined on stage by an Elvis impersonator on lead vocals at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas (8/20/22). The cover portion of the set came to a close with Bonnie Raitt’s “Louise” before the beloved and tender “It Burns Within” left its impression on the ensuing and surprisingly beautiful “Animal” that rounded out set one.
The weekend now at its tipping point with three sets down and three to go, the trio segued beautifully from the second set-opening “Hungersite” across Arevalo’s bass work to a stunning “Red Bird”, Peter’s lone vocal of night two and one of the weekend’s definitive highlights. With Rick finding a smooth vocal lane between Peter’s highs and Jeff’s baritone, Orebolo’s three-way harmonies were particularly impactful during the “Red Bird” vocal rounds. “Seekers On The Ridge Pt. 1 & 2” and an uptempo “Echo Of A Rose” preceded a lovely debut of Sharon Van Etten’s “Love More”. Another Grateful Dead cover, “Tennessee Jed”, inspired massive singalongs before the band returned to its original catalog to close the night with heavy emotion.
Oh my child worry no further lay your burden on me
And I will take your every trouble down to the bottom of this old sea
Those empathetic lyrics from “This Old Sea”, written by Rick in his late teen years, had many in tears before the feel good release of “Empress Of Organos”–Oh, what a day to be living, indeed! ”Silver Rising”, debuted by Orebolo a year earlier at Garcia’s, was another weekend standout that seemed to take on new life and meaning in this room and format.
Orebolo – Set 2 Preview [Pro-Shot] – 2/8/24
An eager and appreciative Saturday night crowd was greeted by a rendition of the traditional “Liza Jane”, a semi-regular Goose cover but an Orebolo first. Peter then broke the one-vocal-per-night pattern with an early pair of leads, “The Whales” and “Moonrise”, wrapped the Orebolian debut of “Atlas Dogs”, “California Magic”, and a slow, melodic “All I Need”. Back-to-back covers of Father John Misty’s “I’m Writing A Novel” and Tom Waits’ “Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis” preceded the set-closing “Rockdale”.
“Thatch” featured some of the weekend’s loveliest and most inspired improvisations to open the final set of the weekend. A pair of debut covers followed with Radiohead’s “True Love Waits” and an extremely fun and well received version of Dick Burnett’s “Man Of Constant Sorrow”. “Okay, the fun’s over”, quipped Rick in contrast to the song’s title before moving into “Lead Up”, an emotionally heavy fan-favorite ballad debuted by Goose right here in this room a year hence.
The trio’s second “obligatory” hat tip to the King came next with “(Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame” as Peter remarked, “Had to do it, Elvis, ya know.” Jeff’s resonant bow work snapped the room back to attention, stunning the sold-out crowd silent and connecting the threads of a tear-jerking “Everything Must Go” and the ensuing “Dripfield”. A memorable “Ship Of Fools” challenged Friday’s “New Speedway Boogie” as GD cover of the weekend before a stunning “Madhuvan” closed second set. “U.S. Blues” marked the weekend’s fifth Grateful Dead cover in the encore slot to send the crowd home with arms waving high and spirits even higher.
Orebolo – Set 2 Preview [Pro-Shot] – 2/10/24
From the emphatic singalongs to the pin-drop silence, from the deliberate intention of every unfiltered guitar note to the emotional draw of Jeff’s bow across his upright bass, these twenty-two Orebolian nights sprinkled over four years’ time have become rare gems—and this memorable three-night run no doubt marks a recognizable apex in the band’s short history.
Click below to view the individual setlists from each of this weekend’s three Orebolo shows at The Capitol Theatre. Scroll down to view photos from the run via David Tracer.
Next up for Orebolo is an appearance at this Memorial Day Weekend’s inaugural Solshine Reverie in Chillicothe, IL. For more information, head here. On the Goose front, Rick, Peter, and Jeff will begin their summer campaign at Solshine and continue throughout June on a major nationwide tour. For a full list of upcoming Goose tour dates, head here.
